US Embassy in Manila closed Friday for Eid’l Fitr

MANILA, Philippines—The Embassy of the United States (US) will be closed on Friday in observance of Eid’l Fitr, it said in a media advisory Wednesday.

“The US Embassy in Manila and its affiliated offices will be closed to the public Friday, August 9, in observance of the Eid’l Fitr,” the notice read.

“The embassy and its affiliated offices will resume their regular services on Monday, August 12,” it said.

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August 9 was previously declared as a regular holiday by Malacañang through Proclamation 629.

Eid’l Fitr or the Feast of Ramadhan will be observed “to promote cultural understanding and integration, the entire Filipino nation should have the full opportunity to join their Muslim brothers and sisters in the observance and celebration of Eid’l Fitr,” the proclamation said.

Global security alert

Meanwhile, an alleged security threat against US Embassies and consulates in the Middle East and Northern Africa prompted the US Department of State to close 19 of them throughout the week until after the Eid’l Fitr celebration

Marie Harf, US State Department deputy spokesperson, told local media in a briefing Monday that they were just “extending the closures for the week.”

“Many of these posts would be closed for much of the week anyways because of the Eid holiday, so we’re just extending those closures for the week,” she said.

“We did a very deliberative post by post process, looking at each of these posts to determine the security situation and whether or not they should be opened,” Harf added.

The perceived threats are believed to come from members of the group Al-Qaeda in the Middle East region.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said in a briefing Monday it has not monitored any specific threats to Philippine Embassies and consulates in those regions.